Members of the media photograph the Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off launch pad 39A for the space shuttle's STS-118 International Space Station mission, on the roof of the VAB building Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007, in Kennedy Space Center.

Members of the media photograph the Space Shuttle Endeavour lifts off launch pad 39A for the space shuttle's STS-118 International Space Station mission, on the roof of the VAB building Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007,

The exhaust from space shuttle Atlantis after lift off for mission STS-117 hangs over the VAB building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Friday, June 8, 2007, in Kennedy Space Center.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ) less

The exhaust from space shuttle Atlantis after lift off for mission STS-117 hangs over the VAB building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Friday, June 8, 2007, in Kennedy Space Center.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle ... more

I covered my first one in 2006 from Titusville, Fla., about 18 miles from the Kennedy Space Center. Now I photograph the launches from atop one of the largest buildings in the world: the VAB, NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building.

The VAB encloses a staggering 129 million cubic feet of space and towers above the landscape at 525 feet. It's where the final assembly of the shuttle is performed before it heads to the launch pad a few miles away.

Chronicle photographers carry a back-breaking amount of equipment - hundreds of pounds of it - when we go to Florida. For the historic final launch of Atlantis, I'll be taking about 18 cameras. On the VAB rooftop, I'll have one camera around my neck, one on a tripod, two remote-controlled cameras and two video cameras.

To capture an assortment of different views, I'll also place several remote, sound-activated cameras in various areas throughout the 140,000-acre Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, where the launch facilities are located.

Over the years, Chronicle photographers have been treated to sightings there of endangered manatee, wild boar, snakes, otters, fish of all sorts, and mosquitoes. Millions and millions of mosquitoes.

Did I mention the alligators? There is no shortage of those, either. I once saw one that was about as long as a 15-passenger van; the last one I saw was a relatively small 4 feet. When I wade knee-deep into the mud in the swamps to place my cameras, a lookout has to stand watch for the reptiles.

Each camera I carry is worth at least $4,500, and each lens costs between $500 and $11,000. If you do the math, that means I'll probably be carrying close to $100,000 worth of equipment.

To protect this precious cargo, I also have to carry dozens of heavy-duty stakes and bungee cords to keep our tripods from getting blown away by the huge sound waves generated by the launch; car batteries for lens heaters to keep them from fogging up; rolls and rolls of gaffer tape; hundreds of 13-gallon trash bags to protect the equipment from the coastal rain showers; and then hundreds of Dixie cups, which we use as lens hoods.

We also are required to weigh down our gear with sandbags so it doesn't become, in NASA parlance, "F.O.D.," or foreign object debris.

For me, like for many in Houston, the final shuttle launch will be sad. I will miss the anticipation of each flight. The hotels and restaurants come alive as tourists flock into the area. I will miss the signs wishing the crews successful missions.

I will miss the calm before the launch, then the adrenaline rush as the main engines ignite and, a few seconds later, the solid rocket boosters fire up. About 14 seconds later, you can sometimes see the sound wave approaching from the water movement. Then yet another huge rush of adrenaline hits you as the sound pounds deep into your chest, the roof of the VAB starts to undulate and the floor moves beneath you as the shuttle heads into space.

I will miss the wide-eyed wonder in the faces of the children as they watch their first launch and the tears of pride and joy as grown-ups are overcome by the moment.

Among my favorite shuttle photos: the launch of Discovery in October 2007 as a heron takes flight in the foreground (see opposite page); and Endeavour as it's passing over Johnson Space Center atop a specially modified Boeing 747 as it's being transported from California to Florida (see Page G24).